Impacts of Recreational Activities: Camping Camping is a favourite hobby of many people; there are many places in Victoria where people go camping. One of the main areas where campers visit is the Murray River because it covers a large area, it offers many different activities to do and it runs through many large communities such as Echuca and Albury/ Wodonga. Camping can cause harm to the environment by leaving fire scars, depletion of firewood, causes erosion by walking over soils and tent pitching, inappropriate rubbish disposal and toilet practises, possible introduction of new weed species, feeding fauna which can lead to reliance on humans, habitat loss, domestic animals disturbing wildlife, degradation and loss of natural sources from powerlines, roads, trucks etc. All of these are negative effects and all of them would have slow impacts, positive impacts when camping are going without electricity that gives out harmful greenhouse gases to the environment, being self-sufficient is one of the big positive impacts. People go camping at many different times of the year; the most popular weekend to go camping around these areas is at Easter. It’s still warm during that time of the year, so the conditions are usually perfect for camping and for many people it’s a tradition at Easter. Camping as an activity has not ceased because it doesn’t require much money and it allows people to relax and to go without luxuries such as television and computers. Camping can occur anywhere, in the backyard, next to a creek, river or lakes; anywhere where you can pitch a tent and have a camp fire going. Some trends and patterns that occur when people go camping is during the summer season, bushfires can be the result of a campfire that hasn’t been put out properly, campers like to camp near water. For example, people like to go camping up around Kangaroo Lake and Lake Charm because they are both large lakes that provide fun activities for campers and both lakes are across the road from each other which is also helpful for campers because they have a range of places to visit. By Ashlee Tonkin
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Activity 2
Introduction of exotic plants and animals European Wild Rabbit: The wild rabbit was introduced from England into Australia in 1859 when 24 rabbits were released by Thomas Austin who was an estate owner. They were introduced because Austin wanted something to find whilst hunting, it was his hobby back in England to go rabbit hunting so he got his nephew to send him 24 grey rabbits. The wild rabbit has survived so well in Australia because of the prime conditions for rabbits to breed in, the country has mild winters which help the rabbit because it can breed the entire year. Widespread farming, scrubland, forest areas, woodlands, low-lying scrub areas and many other places are ideal habitats for rabbits. They thrive in areas like these which is why they have become such a problem in Australia, there are way too many of them.
The map on the top right of this page shows where the rabbits exist around the world; in Australia, it shows that the rabbit has spread all over the country and is a serial pest to society. Not only are they found in Australia, but they are also found in New Zealand and parts of Europe. The major disease in rabbits is known as Myxomatosis. It was deliberately introduced into the species so that the numbers would dramatically decline, which they did. Frank Fenner did some research in the 1950’s which proved that rabbit born diseases was the best way to decrease the numbers of rabbits in Australia. The population dropped from 600 million to 100 million dramatically, but the population soon recovered and reached its way back up to around 200-300 million in 1991. The effects of the disease are severe, with skin tumours, heat exhaustion, conjunctivitis, blindness, and bacterial infections that can cause pneumonia among other things. The major way of trying to control the species was the introduction of Myxomatosis in the 1950’s, but other ways in which humans have tried to manage or exterminate the rabbits have been to go hunting (shooting etc) which have little effect on the population since they are continually spreading all the time, destroying warrens by ploughing, blasting, and fumigating areas in which rabbits inhabit. Poisoning is another way to try and destroy the species, but once poisoned, the rabbit can not be eaten by either humans or pets afterwards. Ferrets are also another way to try and destroy them as they hunt for them as well. One of the most famous ways to kill rabbits has been the steel-jawed leg-holding traps which were banned in the 1980’s for animal cruelty purposes. European Wild Rabbits have had a devastating effect on Australia’s environment. Each year, rabbits damage millions of dollars worth to crops and other agricultural areas. They create erosion by burrowing into the ground, eating native plants which leave the soil vulnerable. Rabbits also often destroy young trees in orchards, forests and on properties by ringbarking them, ringbarking is where a strip of bark has been removed from the circumference of a tree which causes the tree to die. By Ashlee Tonkin
By Ashlee Tonkin
Activity 4
Impacts of Recreational Activities: Camping
Camping is a favourite hobby of many people; there are many places in Victoria where people go camping. One of the main areas where campers visit is the Murray River because it covers a large area, it offers many different activities to do and it runs through many large communities such as Echuca and Albury/ Wodonga.
Camping can cause harm to the environment by leaving fire scars, depletion of firewood, causes erosion by walking over soils and tent pitching, inappropriate rubbish disposal and toilet practises, possible introduction of new weed species, feeding fauna which can lead to reliance on humans, habitat loss, domestic animals disturbing wildlife, degradation and loss of natural sources from powerlines, roads, trucks etc. All of these are negative effects and all of them would have slow impacts, positive impacts when camping are going without electricity that gives out harmful greenhouse gases to the environment, being self-sufficient is one of the big positive impacts.
People go camping at many different times of the year; the most popular weekend to go camping around these areas is at Easter. It’s still warm during that time of the year, so the conditions are usually perfect for camping and for many people it’s a tradition at Easter. Camping as an activity has not ceased because it doesn’t require much money and it allows people to relax and to go without luxuries such as television and computers.
Camping can occur anywhere, in the backyard, next to a creek, river or lakes; anywhere where you can pitch a tent and have a camp fire going.
Some trends and patterns that occur when people go camping is during the summer season, bushfires can be the result of a campfire that hasn’t been put out properly, campers like to camp near water. For example, people like to go camping up around Kangaroo Lake and Lake Charm because they are both large lakes that provide fun activities for campers and both lakes are across the road from each other which is also helpful for campers because they have a range of places to visit.
By Ashlee Tonkin
Introduction of exotic plants and animals
European Wild Rabbit:
The wild rabbit was introduced from England into Australia in 1859 when 24 rabbits were released by Thomas Austin who was an estate owner. They were introduced because Austin wanted something to find whilst hunting, it was his hobby back in England to go rabbit hunting so he got his nephew to send him 24 grey rabbits.
The wild rabbit has survived so well in Australia because of the prime conditions for rabbits to breed in, the country has mild winters which help the rabbit because it can breed the entire year. Widespread farming, scrubland, forest areas, woodlands, low-lying scrub areas and many other places are ideal habitats for rabbits. They thrive in areas like these which is why they have become such a problem in Australia, there are way too many of them.
The map on the top right of this page shows where the rabbits exist around the world; in Australia, it shows that the rabbit has spread all over the country and is a serial pest to society. Not only are they found in Australia, but they are also found in New Zealand and parts of Europe.
The major disease in rabbits is known as Myxomatosis. It was deliberately introduced into the species so that the numbers would dramatically decline, which they did. Frank Fenner did some research in the 1950’s which proved that rabbit born diseases was the best way to decrease the numbers of rabbits in Australia. The population dropped from 600 million to 100 million dramatically, but the population soon recovered and reached its way back up to around 200-300 million in 1991. The effects of the disease are severe, with skin tumours, heat exhaustion, conjunctivitis, blindness, and bacterial infections that can cause pneumonia among other things.
The major way of trying to control the species was the introduction of Myxomatosis in the 1950’s, but other ways in which humans have tried to manage or exterminate the rabbits have been to go hunting (shooting etc) which have little effect on the population since they are continually spreading all the time, destroying warrens by ploughing, blasting, and fumigating areas in which rabbits inhabit. Poisoning is another way to try and destroy the species, but once poisoned, the rabbit can not be eaten by either humans or pets afterwards. Ferrets are also another way to try and destroy them as they hunt for them as well. One of the most famous ways to kill rabbits has been the steel-jawed leg-holding traps which were banned in the 1980’s for animal cruelty purposes.
European Wild Rabbits have had a devastating effect on Australia’s environment. Each year, rabbits damage millions of dollars worth to crops and other agricultural areas. They create erosion by burrowing into the ground, eating native plants which leave the soil vulnerable. Rabbits also often destroy young trees in orchards, forests and on properties by ringbarking them, ringbarking is where a strip of bark has been removed from the circumference of a tree which causes the tree to die.
By Ashlee Tonkin